Feeding and tensioning tool for strapping and the like



E. C. RUTTY Feb. H965 FEEDING AND TENSIONING TOOL FOR STRAPPING AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 10, 1963 1N VENTOR. EDWARD C. RUTTY ATTORNEYS 3,169,lll TENSIONING TOQL FGR STRAPHNG AND THE LlKE Edward C. Rutty, Portland, onn., assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, (form, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 1963, Ser. No. 393,014

rannmoann feeding mechanism capable of producing high strap tension Without excessive abrading.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved feeder assembly for overlapping strapping and the like wherein the abrasive cutting action on the upper portion of such strapping occasioned by toothed or serrated feeding mechanisms is substantially reduced.

Still'another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tensioning and feeding device particularly suited for nonmetallic strapping which greatly reduces the friction between the strapping and at the same time substantially increases the overall tension that can be appliedto the strapping. I V

7 An. additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved tensioner member which increases the contact area between the feeder wheel and the strapping and which .not only avoids the necessity of being rigidly located butalso reduces the possibility of breakage caused by the feeder wheel pressure and torque.

Other. objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outmore in detail hereinafter...

I The invention, zicordingly consists in thc. features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplifiedin theconstruction hereafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which.

willbe indicatedin the appended claims.

'In the drawing: i i FIG. 1 is a side 'elevational view of bly embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is. an enlarged front view of-a portion of the device shownin-FIG 1; and

FIGQS is an isometric View of a tensioner member of the present invention.

Referringnow-to the drawing in greater detail, there is'shown in FIG. 1 a tool ltlfor tightening or exerting tension on a strap or similarbinder used to secure large bundles or packages. The tightener assembly 1b of the present invention, hereinafter described for purposes of clarity and brevity'as a hand'tool, is similar in design and operation to the tool disclosed in United States Patent a tightenerassem- 2,621,893, issued December 16, 1952, to W. C. Childress,

and comprises base member '12 having a handlel l'ter- Initiating in a rearward strap platform 16 at one end thereof and a forward strapping platform 18 at the opposite end thereof. Platform 18 has, projecting upwardly therefrom, a column 20 supporting an apertured knuckle 22. Pivotally connected to knuckle 22 by means the feed wheel and a flat base.

dhhfill Patented Feb. 9, 1965 thereof and inserting the overlapping portions between The lower end of the strap is held by an anchoring plug or pad located in the flat base while the upper end is contacted and moved by' the feed wheel. Although such systems operate effectively on steel strapping, it has been found that a great deal of difliculty has been encountered when nonmetallic strapping is tightened in the same manner. As mentioned in the Childress patent, the serrated surface of the feed wheel has a tendency to cut into the top surface of v the upper end of the strapping when it is under tension.

This effect is much more pronounced on nonmetallic strapping causing it to become abraded, frayed, and at times even cut. The undesirable abrading of the strap is believed to result primarily from the fact that the contact between the serrated wheel and the flat strapping is essentially only a line contact. That is, only an extremely small area of the strap is subjected to the full torque force of the wheel while at the same time experiencing high frictional drag against the underlying portions of thestrap.

According to the present invention, there is provided an assembly including a tensioner member 34 which sub stantially overcomes the above difficulties. According to the operation of the present invention, a length of strapping 32 from a storage roll (not shown) is passed between feeder wheel 23 and the semirigid tensioner member 34, through severing station 36 and over rearward platform 16; The strapping is then loosely wrapped around the product to be bound and the'free end thereof placed between the tensioner element 34 and, the forward platform 13 before passing under the lower stationary cutter 38 of the severing station 36/ The housing 26 is biased downwardly by a spring 44) in a manner similar to that disclosed in the Childress patent causing feed wheel 2% to exert against tensioner member 34 a pressure or force toward the forward platform 18. Tenof pin 24 passing therethrough and fixedly positioned strapping the materialto be bound, overlapping the ends spring 52.

sioner mem ber 3 3 is thereby caused to bear against the freeend portion of strapping 32 pressing it into the toothed locking pad 42 located in the platform 18 and.

preventing its longitudinal movement when the strapping is tightened. Upon actuation of lever 30, the free end portion of strapping 32 is held in place while the portion under [the feed wheel is moved forwardly. under the cooperative. action of the serrated friction surface 44 of feed wheel 28 and tensioner member 34, as will be described more fully hereinafter. When the strapping is taut, a seal or clamp 4-6 is attached and the strapping'is cut. at the severing station 36. The cutting action is accomplished by means of the cooperative action of the.

lower stationary cutter 33 and the upper movable cutting element 43, which is biased intothe open position shown in FIG. 1. Element 48 is actuated bymeans of a lever 59 which pivots about stationary pin 24 and is biased upwardly into a *noncutting position by means of. leaf According to the present invention and as best shown in FIG. 2, tensioner member 34 is loosely located within recess 54 of base member 12 and in spaced relationship to support platform 18 and feed wheel 28 so as to readily permit the insertion of strapping on both sides thereof. Member 34 is held within recess 54 by locking pin 56 which extends through aperture 58 in locating tongue 60 of tensioner member 34. By thus locating the tensioner 3 concave top surface 66. The radius of curvature of top surface 66 is approximately equal to that of the feed wheel 28 and is of sufiicient width to provide approximately 30 degrees of contact between the wheel 28 and the strapping 32. As best shown in FIG. 1, a pair of shoulder portions 68 are located on and constitute the sides of the body portion 62. Shoulders 68 are provided with curved edges so as to permit ease of movement of strap 32 thereover. Located on one end of the elongated central body portion and integrally connected thereto is a locating tongue portion 60 which possesses an aperture 58 therein to facilitate the attachment of insertable member 34 to base member 12 of tool 10, as described he'reinabove. Tongue 60 possesses top and bottom surfaces which are coextensive with surfaces 66 and 64 of the central area of body portion 62 and have the same general contour as those surfaces. On the opposite end of member 34 from tongue 60 are surfaces 64 and 66 which have, respectively, tapers 70 and 72 so as to permit the ready insert of the strapping 32.

As a further feature of the present invention, tensioner 34 is made of material possessing a low coefficient of friction and high surface lubrication. Semirigid plastic materials, for instance acetal resins, such as material sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company under the trade name Delrin, have been found to be extremely well suited for this purpose. Such nonmetallic semirigid materials have the advantage of providing an adequatesupport of low friction characteristics, which support is economical to manufacture and easy to install. It further avoids the necessity of rigidly locating the tensioning element 34, thereby decreasing the possibility of breakage due to the pressure thereon by the feed wheel 28. Additionally, the smooth, rounded shoulder portions 68 and the concave top surface 66, while providing suflicient structural stability to cause an increased contact area between the strapping 32 and the serrated surface 44 of wheel 28, exhibits a sufliciently high lubricative quality to facilitate increased tensioning by the feed wheel without causing damage to the nonmetallic strapping. In this regard it has been found that with the system of the present invention there is attained an increased tension of approximately 300% to 400% over those systems utilizing line contact feeders for nonmetallic strapping. Further, the tensioner provides an increased area of contact between the feed wheel 28 and the nonmetallic strapping 32 thus substantially elimimating the cutting action normally associated with line contact feeding and tensioning tools. The lubricative quality of the material used for member 34 does not, howeven adversely affect the ability of the toothed locking pad 42 to hold the free end portion of the strapping against longitudinal movement when the remainder of the strapping is drawn taut.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent withoutdeparture from. the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A semirigid tensioner member of high surface lubrication for use with a feeder assembly for strapping and the like comprising an elongated body portion having a concave upper surface adapted to cooperatewith a feeding and tensioning wheel of said feeder for movement of strapping therebetween, a substantially flat bottom surface adapted to cooperate with a stationary support to prevent movement of a portion of the strapping positioned there between, and a locating tongue portion integral with said body portion and having anaperture therein for properly locating and attaching said member within said feeder assembly.

2. A nonmetallic tensioner member of high surface lubrication for use with a feeder assembly for strapping comprising an elongated central body portion having a flat bottom surface and a longitudinally extending symmetrically concave *top surface; a pair of shoulder portions integrally joined to and located on the sides of said central body, said shoulders having rounded edges on the portions.

thereof furthest from said central body; and a locating tongue portion integrally extending longitudinally from a first end of said central body and having means to facilitate attachment thereof, said tongue having top and bottom surfaces coextensive with the top and bottom surfaces of the central portion, said member having its end opposite said first end tapered at least along one of said surfaces.

3. A tightener for feeding and tensioning strapping about a package comprising a support adapted to receive and hold an initial portion of the strapping; a rotatable feed wheel mounted for movement toward and away from I r the support; and a tensioner member positioned between cooperating with said wheel to advance therebetween a succeeding portion of said strapping while maintaining greater than-line contact between thestrapping and the wheel. p

4. A tightener as set forth in claim 3' wherein the concave upper surface of said tensioner member is provided with a radius approximately equal to that of said wheel. I

5. A tightener as set forth in claim 3 wherein the tensioner is made of nonmetallic semirigid material having low surface friction characteristics.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,362,068 12/20 Wise 254-51 X 2,594,397 4/52 Childress et al. 140-93 X 2,621,893 12/52 Childress et al. 254--51 2,880,667 4/59 Parkes et al. 100 -32 X 3,024,716 3/62 Limberger 27l-64 X 3,028,885 4/62 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

Leslie et al 254-5l 

1. SEMIRIGID TENSIONER MEMBER OF HIGH SURFACE LUBRICATION FOR USE WITH A FEEDER ASSEMBLY FOR STRAPPING AND THE LIKE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY PORTION HAVING A CONCAVE UPPER SURFACE ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH A FEEDING AND TENSIONING WHEEL OF SAID FEEDER FOR MOVEMENT OF STRAPPING THEREBETWEN, A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BOTTOM SURFACE ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH A STATIONARY SUPPORT TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF A PORTION OF THE STRAPPING POSITIONED THEREBETWEEN, AND A LOCATING TONGUE PORTION INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY PORTION AND HAVING AN APERTURE THEREIN FOR PROPERLY LOCATING AND ATTACHING SAID MEMBER WITHIN SAID FEEDER ASSEMBLY. 